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    The Faith to Walk on Water
    The Faith to Walk on Water
    The Faith to Walk on Water
    Ebook126 pages2 hours

    The Faith to Walk on Water

    By Lindsey Bethel

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    About this ebook

    Sand between my toes, the salt air wrapping around me like a warm, summer blanket, the crashing of waves, and the meeting of sky and water. The beach is where I see the handiwork of God. As a young child, it was there that I wished that I could walk on the water as Jesus and Peter had in Matthew 14.

    It was there that I learned of faith, the faith that requires you to not only step out of the boat but also to focus on Jesus and learn to walk toward Him daily. It is not enough to just get out of our comfort zones, but now we need to learn to grow and walk toward Him constantly.

    The Faith to Walk on Water takes a look at why standing still in our faith is no longer an option, how doubt and fear are overcome by Jesus. He does not watch from a distance, but He is always there holding out His hand for us to take hold.

    So what are you waiting for? Take that step, and walk on the water!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWestBow Press
    Release dateApr 18, 2013
    ISBN9781449791766
    The Faith to Walk on Water
    Author

    Lindsey Bethel

    Lindsey Bethel graduated from seminary in 2011 with her Master’s from Liberty University. Her faith and her love for the beach are what have driven her. She was born and raised in San Diego, California, and now resides in Decatur, Alabama.

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      Book preview

      The Faith to Walk on Water - Lindsey Bethel

      CHAPTER 1

      God’s Faithfulness

      G rowing up in San Diego, my absolute favorite place was the beach. There is something so peaceful and calming about being there. Early morning, before the sun rises and before the crowds come is the best time by far. If you get there early enough you can still smell the salt in the sea. The breeze is very refreshing; it feels like it just wraps around you. Watching the sun rise has to be the best part of all. All the wonderful colors emerging and the sun shining on the sea - it is magical. My favorite part is paddling out past the surf on my board and just sitting facing the horizon. It is the most calming place I know of. All you see is endless water and gorgeous sky. It truly is the work of God’s hands. I see Him more clearly out there and I feel Him in a way I can’t anywhere else.

      I suppose that is why my favorite passage in Scripture is found in Matthew 14:22 - 33 when Jesus walks on water. How many times I’ve wished I could have done that as well. This display of power is amazing in multiple ways. This passage brings to light not only His godly power, but also that He saves us every, day for He never leaves us.

      A Treasured Gift

      This is just one of the gifts that we find in the Bible. Jesus has been working in people’s lives for a while by this point, and at this part of the Gospels we see Him in a new light. We have seen Jesus perform miracles when healing the sick and dying, and we have seen Him teach and speak in parables. We have even seen Him calm a storm and heal demon - possessed people and create baskets and baskets of food out of just two fish and five loaves of bread. However, we have not seen Him complete a task as bold and as amazing as the one seen here. He actually walked on water.

      What a gift we are given here. We have seen Him perform amazing feats, yet somehow this one stands out among the rest, at least for me. Growing up around the water I guess I have a different perspective of all of this. Have you ever put your hand on top of the water? Feel it moving and gliding under you. It is easy to hold your hand above the water level, but if you let your hand fall, if you just relax, there is no way for you to keep that hand above water. It will always sink - always.

      Now here, we see Jesus actually walking on water. It is a performance in a league of its own. It displays His power in such a new light and it draws us toward Him like moths to a flame.

      If you have become stale, used to the same miracles and stories, this one is sure to capture your heart. It is truly a gift to us. Becoming stale is easy when we let our heads get in the way of our hearts and by doing so we overlook what God does every day. Reading a story like this can be refreshing. It can reaffirm His power in our lives. It is easy to forget just how mighty He is. This story should change our hearts on that matter. Never let yourself forget just how great He is in our lives. He can do anything; He will do anything to save us, even if we do not feel worthy of being saved.

      Worthy of Being Saved

      As humans we are very good at feeling like we are not worthy of being saved. We all go through situations in life that result in this feeling. For some it stems from family problems, others it starts in junior high or high school. We get caught up in the world or we find something else that grabs our attentions and because of that we fall and ultimately we feel like being saved is no longer an option.

      I once knew someone who was smart, kind, and full of life. I lost track of the details of what happened in her life when she ended up at a new school one year. All I knew was that she was no longer the same upbeat person I had come to know. Her world seemed dark. It was like she had fallen into an abyss and couldn’t find her way out. As a friend, I didn’t know what to do - I didn’t know how to help her. Now I wish I could have.

      One day at school I learned that she had taken her own life. To this day I still don’t know exactly why she did it, why she felt death was her only way out. I suppose I will never know.

      If you ever feel like you are trapped, like the only way out is death, you are wrong. There is another way. There is life after tragedy, after heart break. God is always there to save us no matter what we do. It is not easy to remember that in the deep dark places of our minds, but if we remember to cry out, just once, God can grab us and help bring us back from the edge.

      He is never too far away to hear us. He is never too far away to not grab us in time. In fact, the story of Jesus walking on water confirms just how close He is to us. Jesus is our guiding light, our salvation, and our hope in times of trouble. God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1). Being our refuge and our strength means He can help us out in everything. He will hold us up and shelter us from storms. He is there standing next to us, holding out His hand and waiting for us even in the midst of fear and storms.

      We need to step up if we see someone who is on that edge and has not found a way to cry out. We need to be the children of God who are active and willing to help others, just as Christ has helped us. We shouldn’t stand back and watch as others’ worlds fall apart. Just being there for them, just letting them know that they can be saved and that they worthy of being saved, can mean the difference.

      I wish I could have seen that in my friend. I wish that I could have stood up and asked what was going on, what had happened in her life that led her down that path. We simply cannot change the past, so it isn’t good to dwell on the past or to wish for more. However, we can help shape the future. I now know what to look for in people, and hopefully I will be able to be there for someone else in the future.

      Just knowing that someone loves them and cares about them, can be a huge help in guiding them toward Jesus. It is about being that light in someone’s life when all he or she sees is darkness. Just remember that we are not the light, but God is the light shining in and through us.

      What Is the Meaning?

      In this passage, Jesus gave Peter the opportunity to walk on water. Peter took that chance and stepped out in faith. He looked away from the Lord for a millisecond though, and in that time he started to sink. The Lord wasted no time in saving him. Being saved is not something that we need to worry about. What we need to worry about is taking the time to realize that we are sinking and that all we need to do is cry out to Him. Faith is the biggest part of this story.

      Not only do we find faith here, but we also find doubt, fear, and God’s power. The story of Jesus walking on the water is one that many of us have heard over and over again. I will be the first to admit that I have heard it so many times that the meaning started to blur and I missed what Jesus was trying to tell me in this passage. There are so many key factors that can make you realize just how powerful, close and loving God is. There are so many small words that make this passage clear and new every time you read it.

      It is when we take the time to read this passage carefully that we see the other meanings behind these simple words. Looking at these words and understanding what they mean can make a whole lot of difference in the way we see our relationships with the Lord. It is not simply about Jesus letting Peter walk on water; it is about the Lord saving Peter after he doubted. It shows us that no matter what we do the Lord is always there to carry us through it.

      It isn’t just about Peter sinking either it is about him stepping out in faith and his trials through all of this. There is so much more to both Peter and Jesus in this story than I think most people see.

      It is so easy to read this passage - or any passage in the Bible for that matter - and only see the surface of what it is saying. Reading about Jesus walking on water can simply mean to us that He walked on water and that Peter was allowed to as well. There may be no depth to the meaning for us if we simply see what it says instead of learning what it means.

      Yet, if that is all we see, what is the point of this passage? It means nothing if all we see is that He walked on water. Why did He walk on water? Why did He allow Peter to walk on water? Why take the time to

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